Bat out of Hell
by Ferngully
Summary: Lupin & Bebop Crossover! Lupin's gang accepts the offer to travel 94 years into the future to steal a diamond for a suspicious Mr. Kada, while the Bebop crew tracks down chump change bounties to make ends meet until a big bounty shows up: Lupin III! R&R!


Hi, everyone! Just wanted to revise a few grammatical things that were bugging me, lol. Anyway, this is a Cowboy Bebop/Lupin crossover! It's called "Bat out of Hell" (from Meatloaf's song "Bat out of Hell") and it should be 12 chapters long. This chapter is really mostly setup to explain how and why Lupin's gang and the Cowboy Bebop crew are actually in a story together (you know, with the hundred year difference, and all), and the setup is more based in Lupin's logic rather than Cowboy Bebop's. Things should pick up afterwards, but things kind of needed to be explained first, so...besides, there's some important foreshadowing, anyways, in this part. Also, the first chapter is called "Welcome to the Jungle" from Guns N' Roses, and it's more Lupin focused, although there is a scene with the CB crew. Also, I have to admit, writing the Lupin gang is a lot easier than writing the Cowboy Bebop crew, but I tried my best. And, just so everyone knows, I'm a Lupin/Fujiko shipper (although I can't really understand how and why Lupin would really be with any other girl...), although it's not exactly a main aspect of the story. And Zenigata will come back in later chapters, so no need to worry about that! Lastly, it was kind of getting long, so I might have rushed the ending of this chapter a bit...oopsy! Oh, well; this is all being written just for some good fun, anyways - nothing to take too seriously. Anyways, here goes nothing:

Prologue:

Spike Spiegel cocked his gun and then pointed it out in front of him with a smirk. "They said they wanted you dead or alive. Usually it's only the latter, but with everything that's happened, I can't say I blame them. And a bounty is a bounty, so…"

He then fired his gun.

Episode 1: Welcome to the Jungle

Inspector Kouchi Zenigata yawned and stretched out his arms as he sat Indian-style outside on top of the building, right across from the museum - what exactly the museum was called or what was inside it didn't exactly concern Zenigata. He only had one thing on his mind; catching Lupin.

Well, he did. But now as he looked at his watch, exhaustion kicking in, Zenigata frowned, his concentration wavering, and he muttered to himself, "Three o'clock already, huh? I thought Lupin would be here by now…" He then picked up his binoculars and stared down at the museum entrance; but he saw no one but the Egyptian guards stationed outside it.

"Inspector, sir!" a man from behind said and Zenigata turned his head to see an officer standing behind him and saluting.

"What is it?" Zenigata grumbled as he looked away.

"Just here to report that all his well, sir."

Zenigata just nodded. After the officer left, Zenigata let out a sigh and frowned. "Where the hell could he be…?"

"Perhaps, Inspector, he doesn't plan to show up tonight," another voice spoke up and Zenigata lifted his eyes to his right to see the General of the Egyptian troops standing beside him.

"If Lupin says he's going to show up, he'll show up," Zenigata stubbornly insisted, although his confidence in this conviction was beginning to waver.

"Still…" the General trailed off into a yawn. "It's getting late, don't you think? And since there's no sign of Lupin… Besides, Inspector, many of the soldiers would like to return to their homes, to see their wives and kids. You can understand that, can't you?"

"I haven't seen my family in almost a year," Zenigata remarked and the General frowned.

"Oh…is that so?" he asked uneasily. "Perhaps you work too hard then…"

"My daughter got married a couple months ago," Zenigata then told the General as he lifted his binoculars again and began scanning the area once more, first the entrance and then the sky above the museum. "I was planning on going, but Lupin and his gang had headed to New York to steal some painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, so… He got away with it, too, as usual, the little bastard, but it was still a good try on my part, I have to say."

"I'm sure it was, Inspector."

"And I just got a phone call from my wife a couple of days ago telling me that now my daughter's pregnant. Can you believe it? Pregnant already…she just turned twenty last month and now she's going to be a mother. She's already a wife. The baby's due next spring. Kid's grow up so fast nowadays…"

"Yes…"

Zenigata let out another sigh as he dropped the binoculars again. "But I don't have time to worry about that now; catching Lupin III is my number one priority."

"That is a shame, Inspector," the General replied, shaking his head. "And what if you never catch Lupin III?"

"Never catch Lupin?" Zenigata questioned with a scoff. "It's attitudes like that make my job so difficult! But, don't worry, General. I'll catch him, all right. I'm the only one who can."

"If you say so, Inspector. But perhaps it would be best if you take some time off and get some rest every once in awhile."

"I'll never rest until the day Lupin is caught, tried, and put away for good!" Zenigata declared resolutely. "I have too much pride in my work to do anything else."

The General was now the one to sigh. "There's just no use talking with some people," he muttered to himself. "They're just too stubborn for their own good…"

Suddenly, there was a siren. "Huh?" Zenigata questioned as he stood up. "What the…?"

"General, sir! Inspector, sir!" the officer from before came running up in a panic. "It's Lupin III! He's already inside the museum!"

"Lupin!" Zenigata exclaimed. "But how the hell did he get in there!"

"According to the men stationed in the museum, he must have used the underground tunnels under the city!"

"Underground tunnels!" Zenigata questioned and then grabbed the general by the collar. "Damn it! Why didn't you tell me there were underground tunnels!"

"Well…" Before the General could answer, the sound of a helicopter flying overhead came to their ears and Zenigata looked up to see a helicopter now hovering a few yards over the museum with a ladder dangling down to the roof. Piloting it was none other than Fujiko Mine. She gave Zenigata a smile, a wink, and a wave.

Zenigata, in his rage, pushed the General to the side, shouting, "Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Then, he glared at the officer and ordered, "Damn it! Get some men on that roof now!"

"Yes, sir!" the officer immediately saluted a nervous look on his face at the sight of the furious Zenigata.

However, Lupin and his cohorts, Jigen and Goemon, had already made it onto the roof, ancient statue in Lupin's hand, followed by two dozen guards firing at them.

"Doubt that we're going to make it flying out of here, dangling from a ladder as we're being shot at," Jigen pointed out as they reached the roof.

"Can't say I disagree," Lupin remarked with a smirk, but then cringed and ducked as another round of firing began. He looked to Goemon and, shouting over the gunfire, said, "Hey, Goemon, do your thing, would you?"

"Hmm." Goemon then turned and pulled out his sword, deflecting all the bullets from his two dozen enemies with his blade. Charging for them at lightening speed, and with only two swings of his sword, Goemon managed to destroy all the guns from the guards, and gave a small smirk of victory because of it. Lupin and Jigen, meanwhile, took hold of the ladder as the helicopter began to rise.

"You know, I don't think that'll ever cease to amaze me," Lupin noted in regards to Goemon.

"Yeah," Jigen agreed. "How the hell does he do that anyway?"

"I don't know, but…" Lupin trailed off, noticing the helicopter lifting even further and called out to Goemon, "Goemon, you better hurry up or we'll be leaving without you!"

Goemon stood up and sheathed his sword. Then, he made a dart for the helicopter, jumped, and clasped his hand around the last ring of the ladder.

"Well, that was close," Lupin remarked before looking up to Fujiko and calling out, "Okay, Fuji-cakes! We're all set!"

"It's about time," Fujiko replied with a scowl. "I'm like a sitting duck hovering out here!" She then let out a gasp as more gunfire came from the roof of the building across from the museum where Zenigata stood.

"Just quit complaining and friggin' go!" Jigen shouted over the sound of the gunfire and bullets clanking against the metal of the helicopter.

Fujiko scoffed. "Men," she muttered to herself, but shifted the gears of the helicopter and hit the gas.

"Women," Jigen, meanwhile, grumbled, lowering his hat even more so over his eyes with his free hand while gripping onto the helicopter ladder with the other.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Zenigata shouted, pointing fanatically at the helicopter and Lupin as the Egyptian troops continued to shoot.

"See ya, Pops!" Lupin just called out to Zenigata with a wide grin as the helicopter zoomed over Zenigata and the others, Lupin holding up the small ancient sculpture in victory.

"Damn it, Lupin! Get back here!" Zenigata furiously yelled as he flared his arms and legs about in his anger. "Lupin!"

But it was too late for the helicopter was now a speck in the sky, flying towards the horizon. Zenigata frowned as he watched Lupin fly away, staring on until the very last moment the helicopter could be seen. Again, he had been defeated.

* * *

"So, did you get it?" Fujiko asked eagerly as Lupin climbed into the helicopter, taking the seat beside her while Jigen and Goemon took the seats in the back.

"Did I get it?" Lupin questioned her with a haughty laugh. "Of course I got it; was there ever any doubt?" He then placed the statue on the dashboard with a victorious grin.

Fujiko, however, grimaced in disgust at the sight of it. "That's it? We wasted all that time getting that ugly thing?"

"I have you know that it's an ancient work of art!" Lupin defended himself. "It's priceless!"

"It's still hideous!" Fujiko argued, looking away from him in annoyance.

"Hey, no one asked you to come along with us," Jigen remarked, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "You're the one who invited yourself." He then frowned himself as he glanced at the statue. "Hey, Lupin, why did we waste our time getting such an ugly, worthless, piece of crap anyway?"

"You guys have no sense of appreciation for ancient Egyptian art or history!" Lupin declared, raising his chin in indignation.

"Yeah, whatever," Jigen muttered.

"Actually, Lupin, it really does seem pretty ugly now that I'm looking at it," Goemon stated with a grimace.

Lupin let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, if you guys don't want it then I'll just keep it for myself!"

"Suit yourself," Jigen stated and Goemon nodded in agreement.

"Who would want that ugly thing anyway?" Fujiko retorted, still highly aggravated that Lupin had wasted her time.

"Fine; be stubborn," Lupin said, but then smirked deviously as he picked up the statue. "Besides, it's not the outside that matters; it's what on the inside that counts." With that, he smashed the statue against the dashboard.

Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko gasped in horror. "What, are you crazy, man!" Jigen exclaimed first. "What happened to that friggin' thing being priceless!"

"We didn't spend all that time stealing that statue for you just for you to break it, you know!" Goemon angrily added.

Lupin, however, just chuckled and replied, "Who said we were just stealing a statue?" He then turned back to them and opened his hand to reveal a large diamond.

"You mean, you knew that thing was in the statue all along?" Jigen asked.

Lupin nodded. "Yep." Turning forward again, he continued, "But since you guys didn't want the thing and said I could keep it for myself…" He chuckled to himself as both Jigen and Goemon scowled.

Meanwhile, Fujiko, eyes sparkling as she stared down at the glistening diamond, cooed, "Oh, it's so beautiful! Can I see, Lupin?" She then went to make a grab for it, the helicopter swerving to the right as she did so, causing both all three men to gasp in fright.

"Fuji-cakes! You're supposed to be concentrating on driving this thing!" Lupin exclaimed as the helicopter made another swerve.

* * *

"That was a lousy trick, you know that, Lupin," Goemon remarked as he stepped out of the helicopter, Lupin already walking back to their mansion and whistling to himself as he continuously tossed the diamond up in the air and caught it. "Making us think we were only stealing that statue so you could keep the diamond for yourself."

"Well, maybe next time you should be a little bit more appreciative of ancient Egyptian art," Lupin commented with a wry smirk.

"Yeah, because we all don't know that's a bunch of bullshit," Jigen sarcastically commented and Lupin shrugged.

"Sorry, Jigen, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles, my man."

"It was still a lousy trick," Goemon muttered.

"Yeah; about the only thing worse was Fujiko's driving," Jigen added and both him and Goemon snickered.

Fujiko gave them a scowl as she stepped out of the helicopter and then headed to Lupin, taking hold of his arm just as he caught the diamond for the umpteenth time. "Come on, Lupin. Let me just see it for a little while. I'll give it right back; I promise. Please?" She flashed him a smile and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Do you think he's stupid enough to fall for that?" Goemon whispered.

Jigen let out a sigh, lowering his hat over his eyes, and grumbled bitterly, "Probably."

Lupin's face turned a slight shade of pink as he stared down at the smiling Fujiko. He couldn't help but grin himself and say, "Aw…you know I can't resist you, Fuji-cakes!" He tossed her the diamond and she released his arm, excitedly catching it in her two hands.

"Thanks, Lupin!" she said as her eyes shined on the diamond.

"Anything for you, babe," Lupin replied with a smile.

"Well, there's no way we're getting it now," Jigen told Goemon while they watched Fujiko glowing, gazing down at the diamond ravenously as if it already belonged to her, and Goemon couldn't help but frown and nod in agreement.

"Mr. Arsene Lupin III?" a low voice suddenly boomed from the shadows of the front doorway, and Lupin and his crew stopped in their tracks to see the silhouette of a man standing on their front porch.

Lupin narrowed his eyes suspiciously, raised an eyebrow, and smirked. "Yeah. Who wants to know?"

The man now stepped forward, the red sunlight from the rising sun shining onto his wickedly grinning face. "My name is Dr. Fujimaro Natsume. I'm sorry to bother you so early, but an employer of mine has a special job for you."

* * *

They had gathered in the living room. Lupin casually sat on the couch, leaned back in his seat, arms folded behind his head, and feet raised up on the coffee table, smirk still on his face. Jigen stood behind the couch, leaning his back against the left side as he polished his gun, his suspicious eyes glaring over his shoulder from underneath the rim of his hat. Goemon stood behind him, leaning against the wall besides the door, hand around the handle of his sword, and eyes locked on the supposed doctor who had sought them out. Fujiko sat on the armrest of the couch besides Lupin, legs crossed as she gracefully twirled the foot that rested in the air about while rolling the diamond back and forth across her fingers, a devious smirk similar to Lupin's across her face as she eyes the doctor. And the doctor stood in front of them all, on the other side of the coffee table, a large window resting behind him, sunlight pouring through it.

"So, you want us to steal a diamond?" Lupin questioned after hearing the doctor's offer and then let out a cocky laugh. "What's so special about that now?"

"After all, Lupin just stole a diamond only a few short hours ago," Fujiko added, her smirk widening as the diamond she held in her hands glistened in the morning light. "See?" She held it forward a bit for him to see.

"Yes…" Dr. Natsume reluctantly answered with a bit of a sneer, but then said, "However, this is a very special diamond. It's called the Chariot's Diamond."

"The Chariot's Diamond?" Lupin asked, his face turning puzzled. After a moment he scoffed, however, and remarked, "I've never heard of it."

"Neither have I," Jigen replied coldly.

"How about you, Goemon?" Lupin asked, smirking. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"Can't say I have," Goemon stated.

"Have you heard of it, Fujiko?" Lupin then asked, looking up to her.

"No, lover; I've never heard of it before," Fujiko answered.

"Well, isn't that funny?" Lupin then stated as he looked back at Dr. Natsume with a smirk. "None of us have heard of it; I guess it can't be all that special than, can it?"

The doctor scowled a bit, but tried to hold his temper. "Are you saying that you don't think it exists?"

"No; we're saying that we think you're a God damn liar," Jigen rebutted and the light from the sun glistened of his newly shined gun.

"Besides, even if there was this Chariot's Diamond and I were to steal it, why would I give it to your employer, anyway?" Lupin added.

"Because, this heist is not about the diamond itself - not for you, anyway. It's about the challenge, Mr. Lupin," the doctor then began, his wild grin returning as his eyes began to flash wickedly. "My employer, Mr. Kada, has hired many of thieves for this job and they have all failed miserably at it. So he thought he'd have you try your luck at it. After all, you are the greatest thief of all times, aren't you - the legendary Lupin III?"

"I wouldn't say of ALL times…" Lupin trailed off with a haughty grin.

"Don't get cocky, Lupin," Jigen whispered to him. "This guy is bad news. I can tell. There's something just not right here…"

"And how can the great Lupin III resist a challenge?" Dr. Natsume continued. "Especially now that you've gotten so good at your craft, Mr. Lupin. Don't these ordinary heists seem so mundane to you now?"

Lupin now sat up and exclaimed, "Ordinary!" However, Lupin calmed down as he noticed the wicked grin upon Dr. Natsume's face, and raised an eyebrow. "You still haven't told me what's in it for me if I get your boss this diamond."

The doctor's teeth flashed as he grinned. "In exchange for the diamond, Mr. Kada is willing to give you the opportunity of a lifetime. Or, actually, more like two or three lifetimes."

"Huh?" A baffled expression fell onto Lupin as it did the others. "What do you mean two or three?"

Dr. Natsume didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Here; let me show you a layout of the security system surrounding the Chariot's Diamond." He pulled out the blueprints for the building the diamond was being held in and laid it out on the coffee table for Lupin and the others to see.

Lupin leaned over the blueprints, rubbing his chin with his hand as he studied it. "Hmm…" Meanwhile, an inquisitive Fujiko, still sitting on the arm rest, uncrossed her legs and leaned over Lupin's shoulder a bit to get a look at the blueprints as Jigen turned around and, resting his arms on the top of the couch, looked down at the blueprints as well. Goemon, eyes still set suspiciously on Dr. Natsume, didn't move from his spot by the door, his fingers gripping his sword handle even tighter.

"What in the…" Lupin then said and his face grew irate. "I've never seen anything like this before! There's no way that technology like this exists today!"

"Yeah; what the hell kind of crap are you trying to pull anyway?" Jigen questioned, equally annoyed.

"I'm not trying to pull anything," Dr. Natsume replied calmly.

"Well, it's obvious that this security layout is phony!" Lupin argued, crossing his arms angrily. "It's like something out of some sci-fi fanatic's fantasy or something!"

"On the contrary; it's very real," the doctor insisted.

"Listen, you're not fooling anyone," Fujiko now spoke up, growing irritated herself. "We've broken into places with the most advanced security systems in the world, and we've never seen anything that comes remotely close to being this complex. And you said so yourself that Lupin's the greatest thief of all times; I think he'd know a fake security layout when he sees one. Any of us would, really."

"Fujiko's right, and this one's definitely a fake," Lupin concurred with a nod. "Technology like this doesn't exist."

"You're right, I'm afraid," Dr. Natsume began. "Technology like this doesn't exist - for now, anyway."

"Huh?" Lupin inquired in both puzzlement and suspicion. "Just what in the hell are you trying to get at?"

"What I'm trying to get at, Mr. Lupin," Dr. Natsume then said through clenched teeth, again trying to hold his temper, "is that the reason why you don't recognize any of this technology from this security system is because it's all a hundred years ahead of your time - this time. And that the reason that none of you have ever heard of the Chariot's Diamond is because it won't be discovered for another thirty seven years."

"What!" Lupin questioned as Fujiko, Jigen, and Goemon gasped in surprise.

Goemon, now standing up straight and taking a few step forwards, asked, "Are you trying to tell us that you want us to go a hundred years into the future so we can steal a diamond for you?"

"For my employer, Mr. Kada, yes, who is currently living in the year 2071. You'll meet him if you choose to accept the job and travel with me into the future - ninety four years, six months and seven days into the future, to be precise" Dr. Natsume answered. "I would think it would be a fitting enough award for you all; a diamond in exchange for seeing the future - living in the future - a future you can only begin to imagine."

"That's impossible!" Lupin exclaimed. "There's no way we can travel a hundred years into the future!"

"With your limited technology, I suppose so," the doctor began. "But the year 2071 is quite more advanced, as you can see by the security layout for the Chariot's Diamond. And, Mr. Lupin, since you find 1977's security systems to be so easy to break, I'm sure you'll find the security systems of 2071 a lot more challenging."

"I never said it was easy!" Lupin protested in his defense. "Besides, why would your employer - Mr. Kada - waste all this time and money to have me travel into the future to steal a damn diamond for him?"

"He has his reasons," the doctor answered curtly. "And like I said before, all the others he's hired have failed. There was no one else but you, Mr. Lupin, the greatest thief of all times; you're still a legend even a hundred years from now."

"Really?" Lupin asked in surprise and then began to grin at this thought.

"Lupin!" Jigen then harshly whispered to him and Lupin shook his head, forcing his mind to leave this daydream.

"Right," he said and then looked back to Dr. Natsume. "Me and my friends have to talk about this first. If you'd excuse us for a few moments…"

Lupin then got off the couch as did Fujiko and the two, along with Jigen, made their way back to Goemon, the four forming a small circle as they began to talk.

"So?" Lupin asked.

"So?" Jigen questioned. "What do you mean, so? I think the answer's pretty obvious. We don't this guy from a hole in the head and he's telling us he's going to take us a hundred years into the future to meet this other guy that we don't know from a hole in the head?"

"It's ninety-four years," Goemon corrected.

"Whatever," Jigen continued on annoyed. "For all we know this guy could be crazy. We don't even know for sure if he's a friggin' doctor, for crying out loud!"

"Jigen makes some valid points…" Lupin trailed off.

"But what if he is telling the truth?" Fujiko then asked. Her eyes grew wide with excitement as she exclaimed, "Imagine! The future! I wonder what it's like!"

"Don't be stupid," Jigen retorted.

"Besides, even if he is telling the truth, something still seems suspicious about him," Goemon remarked. He then sighed and added, "I just don't like this."

"But we can handle ourselves just fine, though," Fujiko stated.

"Yeah, but not if we're stuck ninety four years in the future. How are we supposed to get back?" Goemon argued.

"When did we actually decide that this guy's telling the truth again?" Jigen then spoke up. "When did we even start debating whether any of this was true or not? Why are we even having this friggin' conversation in the first place? This whole thing is friggin' ridiculous and we're standing around here acting as though it could be true! I don't understand why we haven't just told this asshole to get the hell out of here already!"

"Well, aren't we the skeptic, Jigen?" Fujiko remarked with a sly, mocking smirk.

"At least it's better than being a damn moron," Jigen snapped back.

"Hey, guys! Let's not fight, all right?" Lupin then cut in before Fujiko could say anything.

"Don't tell me you actually believe this doctor, too, Lupin," Jigen then said and then mumbled bitterly, "if he even is a doctor…"

"Well…" Lupin trailed off.

"Damn it, Lupin!" Jigen exclaimed as he glared away. "I always knew you were a damn moron, too!"

"Look, whether or not I believe this Dr. Natsume with his whole time traveling thing, I still agree that something fishy is going on around here," Lupin explained. "But, you have to admit, there's something enticing about the offer." He then laughed. "I mean, it's the future!" Fujiko nodded in agreement.

"I often heard it told that it's dangerous to know one's future before it happens," Goemon then stated as he closed his eyes. "The temptation may be great to follow the path towards ultimate knowledge, but it will only be a path filled with regret. We are not meant to know everything. Perhaps this is why, in the story of Adam and Eve, God told both Adam and Eve not to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge; certain knowledge is not meant for us to know and the rest is not meant to be learned all at once, but at a steady pace. For all we know, we may know too much already…"

"Okay…" Lupin trailed off staring at Goemon with much confusion as did Fujiko and Jigen. Then, quickly deciding to change the subject, Lupin said, "Anyway, maybe we should take a vote on this."

"A vote?" Jigen questioned with a scoff.

"Yeah," Lupin answered. "Yes, if we should check this thing out and see if maybe Dr. Natsume is telling the truth; or no, if we should just forget about the whole thing and tell Dr. Natsume to get out of here."

"What if we vote yes and it turns out to be true; does that mean we're going to go into the future?" Fujiko asked.

"Hmm…" Lupin thought for a moment and then answered, "Well, I guess there's no point in checking it out if we're not going to go through with the whole thing, so voting yes also means that we're going a hundred years or ninety four years or whatever into the future if Dr. Natsume doesn't turn out to be a fraud." They all nodded in agreement. "And it's one for all and all for one, so whatever the vote turns out to be we all have to go along with it, no matter what. After all, this is some serious business we're dealing with, whether it turns out to be true or not, and since we're a team, well, most of the time…" The three men glanced over at Fujiko for a moment, "…it's important that we stick this thing out together, whatever it is that we decide to do." They all nodded again. "Okay, then; Jigen, you start the voting."

"You all know what my answer is," Jigen mumbled in annoyance. "The whole thing's so friggin' stupid to begin with; I don't know why the hell we're even voting on it."

"Just give us your vote, Jigen," Lupin said.

Jigen crossed his arms and scoffed, lowering his head so that the shadow of his hat covered his eyes. "No."

"Okay, what about you, Fujiko?" Lupin asked and they all looked to her.

"Well, it would be stupid to pass an opportunity like this up!" Fujiko exclaimed. "Like he said, it's the opportunity of the lifetime, maybe even two or three! I mean, what if it really is true?"

"So that's a yes?" Lupin asked and Fujiko nodded. "Goemon?"

All eyes fell onto Goemon then and Goemon was silent for a long moment. Then, he let out a sigh. "As much as I would like to vote yes…" he trailed off reluctantly and sighed again with a regretful frown. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to say no. The temptation to learn about the future is a great one, but in the end I feel it would most likely be a mistake."

"Oh, come on, Goemon!" Fujiko exclaimed desperately.

"I'm sorry, Fujiko," Goemon then said, "but it's for you own good. The future is not something any of us should know." Fujiko simply scowled.

"Don't tell me that you actually believe that this Dr. Natsume guy may actually be telling the truth!" Jigen now questioned in disbelief and annoyance.

Goemon just gave him a glare and said, "Just be glad I didn't vote yes."

"Okay, then…that's two votes no and one yes," Lupin began. "That just leaves me…well, Jigen's right in that we really know nothing about this guy and he could just be crazy. After all, the whole idea of traveling a hundred years into the future is a little farfetched." Jigen nodded in agreement.

"On the other hand," Lupin then said, "if it really is true, we're really blowing an amazing opportunity here! We'd get to see a world that we can only imagine in our wildest dreams! I mean, look how much has changed over the last hundred years; televisions, cars, airplanes - everything, really, if you think about it. That type of opportunity really would be worth a diamond or two. Hell, it would be worth a few million diamonds, and all we have to do is steal one diamond for some Mr. Kada? Granted, it might not be the easiest of heists, considering we don't know much about the security system, but I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle if we put a little thought into it. Like Dr. Natsume said, it's a challenge and it's hard for me to back away from a challenge, especially one of this magnitude. Besides, we could stay there for a few weeks and then, when we want to come home, they can just plop us back into 1977 only a minute after we've left, so it's not like we'd be wasting any time…

"Still, for all we know that this could be a trap; none of it could be true at all. Like Jigen said, Dr. Natsume might not even be a real doctor. And we all agree that there's something suspicious about him, whether he's telling the truth or not, and that there's something weird about this whole thing - and I don't mean a good weird."

There was a pause then and Goemon asked, "Well? What's your vote then, Lupin?"

Lupin hesitated for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a sigh. "I'm going to have to vote yes. Fujiko's right; the idea of seeing the future is just too good to pass up," he decided.

"I can't believe this!" Jigen exclaimed. "You really believe that it might be true, too!"

Lupin just smiled and let out a laugh. "What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic at heart!" He laughed again while Jigen sighed in frustration, placing a hand to his forehead.

"Well, a lot of friggin' good this damn vote did us," Jigen muttered. "It's now two to two."

"A stalemate," Goemon added.

"Well…since I'm leader let's just say my vote counts twice," Lupin decided with a grin.

"What!" both Goemon and Jigen protested.

"That's not fair!" Goemon then argued.

"Yeah; when the hell did that become part of the voting rules!" Jigen questioned.

"I think it's a perfectly good rule," Fujiko replied with a smile.

"You would," Jigen snapped coldly back.

"Come on, you guys!" Lupin exclaimed. "Don't you have any sense of adventure?"

"Yeah, just not the stupid ones," Jigen retorted.

"Goemon, you said you wanted to vote yes…" Lupin then began with a devious smirk.

Goemon frowned. "Well…"

"Hey! He can't change his vote now!" Jigen shouted.

"Sure he can!" Lupin argued.

"I must not give into temptation," Goemon said resolutely as he closed his eyes and raised his chin.

"Come on, Goemon," Fujiko then began. "You know you want to go!"

"Wanting is a weakness," Goemon reasoned.

"How much do you want for a yes?" Lupin questioned.

Goemon gave him a glare. "Bribery is a disgusting, pathetic practice."

Lupin sighed and then snatched the diamond he had stolen from Fujiko's hand. "Hey!" she cried, but he ignored her.

"Here; take this," he said quickly, throwing him the diamond.

Goemon caught it and looked down at it. He grinned, the diamond's sparkle reflecting in his eyes, and said, "Although it is an affective one…I vote yes."

"Now hold on a second!" Jigen began to argue.

"Sorry, Jigen, but the vote's three to one," Lupin interrupted with a smile.

"But - hey! The least you could have done was bribe me, too!" Jigen continued to object. "Don't I get anything!"

But Lupin had already turned around to address Dr. Natsume with a sly smirk. "All right, doctor. We're up for your boss's challenge."

And Dr. Natsume grinned.

* * *

Spike frowned as he bent down and stared into the empty fridge. He stood up straight, calling, "Hey, Jett! Don't we have any food around here?"

"I think there's some ramen noodles…somewhere…" Jett's voice called back from the living room of the Bebop, trailing off with some uncertainty and Spike sighed in aggravation.

"What's it going to take to get a piece of meat every once in awhile…" he muttered to himself as he slammed the refrigerator door shut.

"Maybe a bounty or two," a familiar voice came from the right and Spike looked over to the doorway to see Faye Valentine standing there with a smile. "Well, if they weren't all chump-change bounties, that is." She grimaced in disgust at this and continued on, "Whatever happened to mass murderers and bio-terrorists, anyway? Now all we're stuck with is petty larcenists and drug addicts that are barely worth 100,000 Woolongs a piece. I mean, there's not even that many bounties around over a million Woolongs and that's even chump change!"

Spike sighed, even more aggravated than before, and muttered, "God…you talk too much…"

Faye gave him a scowl, crossing her arms indignantly. "Well, who asked you!"

With another sigh, Spike deliberately changed the subject, "When did you get back, anyway?"

Faye now outstretched her arms and walked into the kitchen, casually answering, "Only a little while ago...like a few minutes or so..." She trailed off as she began searching the kitchen cabinets.

"You lost all your money that fast?" Spike asked and Faye gave him a fierce glare.

"I didn't LOSE anything," she corrected him. "I made an investment. It just so happens that my investment took a turn for the worst."

"Whatever you say, Faye…"

"Besides, who needs the horse races, anyway?" she continued on. "I think next time I'll try my luck at the casino; it's so much more glamorous, really…" She then frowned angrily as she came upon the empty fridge and questioned, "Jeez; isn't there anything to eat in this dump?"

Spike let out a loud, frustrated groan before exiting the kitchen, leaving Faye to fend for herself, and entering the Bebop's main living area where Jett sat watching the television and Ed laid sprawled out on the floor, her computer lying on her stomach as she somehow typed away at it, with Ein lying besides her, chewing away at a dog biscuit. Spike stopped and glared at Ein in some annoyance as he watched him happily eat. He then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to the couch, asking irritably, "how come the dog gets to eat?"

"Huh?" Jett looked up and then over at Ein. "Oh…" He gave a shrug. "Well, I said there were ramen noodles."

"I don't want ramen noodles."

"Don't be such a baby, Spike; you know that we don't have the money to afford anything else," Jett reasoned. "The maintenance alone for the Bebop costs a fortune and bounties just aren't coming in like they used to."

Spike snorted. "I'm going out and getting something to eat."

"Damn it, Spike; didn't you just hear a word I said?" Jett questioned in anger.

"I heard you," Spike answered.

Jett scowled. "You just don't give a damn, right?"

"Something like that."

"Jett! There's nothing to eat around here!" Faye's voice called out and she appeared in the living room a moment later with an annoyed look on her face. "There's nothing to eat around here!"

Jett sighed angrily and snapped, "I heard you the first time, Faye."

"Well, when are you going to go out and buy some food?"

"Maybe when you two actually grow up, quit complaining, and do some work for a change!" Jett exclaimed, glaring at both Faye and Spike.

"It's not our fault that all the bounties are chump-change, Jett," Faye remarked.

"Chump-change or not, they're still worth something," Jett argued. He then gestured to the television screen. "Here; take a look at this."

Both Faye and Spike curiously made there way over to the couch, Faye standing behind it and looking over Jett's left shoulder and Spike standing in front of it, to the right of Jett.

"Hello, and welcome to another episode of Big Shot!" Punch spoke and Judy grinned with a vigorous nod.

"We know the bounty-hunting's been a bit slow recently, but that's because you all out there have been doing such a good job at getting all those criminals behind bars!" she exclaimed.

"That's right!" Punch agreed. "However, that doesn't mean that they're all behind bars just yet! And we still have some bounties to show to you!"

"How exciting!" a bouncy Judy added.

"First up is Blake Manson!" Punch then said as a picture of the man appeared on the screen. "He's just another one in the strange slew of attempted robberies at the Zaritama Vault on Mars over the last few months!"

"Was he after…the Chariot's Diamond?" Judy asked with a feigned enthusiasm.

"You bet he was!" Punch exclaimed and a picture of a large diamond came onto the screen. "And there it is, the Chariot's Diamond, the largest diamond in the universe!" Faye and Spike stared at the shining diamond in awe as Punch continued on, "Weighing in at 1003.37 carats and having 436 facets, it is the largest diamond ever to be discovered, having been found in Africa in the year 2014, 57 years ago. Having been lost in 2022 after the Gates crashed, it later resurfaced twenty years ago, found by a crew employed by the affluent Mr. Nero Zaritama!" A picture of Zaritama came onto the screen. "The diamond is now safely located in the most secured vault on Mars, also owned by Mr. Zaritama, and has been, recently, the object of the many attempted robberies."

"Ooh! How exciting!" Judy added, repeating what she had said only moments before hand.

"But enough about Zaritama!" Punch declared. "Do you know how much that Chariot's Diamond is worth?"

"No! How much?" Judy asked with a grin.

"A whopping 867 million Woolong!" Punch answered and Spike's, Jett's, and Faye's mouths all dropped open.

"Eight hundred…sixty seven…?" Faye asked breathlessly.

"Oh, my! That means if anyone were to steal that diamond, the estimates on his bounty would be over a billion Woolong!" Judy exclaimed and the three's mouths dropped even more. "That would be the largest bounty anyone's ever had!"

Punch nodded. "Yes, it would be!"

"So? Did Blake Mason manage to steal this one of a kind diamond?" Judy asked and the three leaned forward anxiously.

"Sadly…no," Punch answered and Spike, Jett, and Faye all slumped and frowned with a groan.

"Well, that's too bad!" Judy exclaimed

"Like the others before him," Punch continued on, "he and his partner, Craig Jackson, who was mortally wounded in this last attempt by Zaritama's highly trained security guards, failed miserably, not even getting anywhere remotely near the Chariot's Diamond."

"That must be a top-notch security system!" Judy exclaimed. "It would be impossible for any thief to steal from there!"

"It sure would be!" Punch exclaimed. "However, Blake Manson managed to escape the vault, although sources say he has been wounded and is somewhere in the capital of Mars."

"Really? Does he have a bounty on his head?" Judy asked, clasping her hands together.

"You bet he does!"

"Well, how much?"

"It may not be a billion Woolong, but it's still a hefty bounty!" Punch said and Spike, Jett, and Faye perked up a bit. "The total bounty on Mr. Mason's head is…500,000 Woolong!"

"500,000?" Spike asked in disgust as he sighed and slumped into the seat beside Jett. "How pathetic."

"A bounty is a bounty, Spike," Jett reasoned. "And 500,000 is more than any of us have right now."

Faye let out a sigh, but said, "Well, I suppose it would be easy enough…I mean, they already said the guy's wounded."

"I guess…" Spike trailed off with an annoyed boredom in his eyes and Jett gave him a glare.

Then, Jett crossed his arms and muttered, "You two have got to be the laziest, most spoiled, most selfish, most conceited people I have ever met."

"Hey, it's not like I said I wasn't going to do it," Spike said casually, giving Jett a smirk as he stood up.

"Well, it's about time you do something," Jett replied curtly and Spike just shrugged.

"What I want to know is how come all these people keep on trying to steal this diamond if it's so impossible to get," Faye then said, still leaning over the couch. "And why suddenly now if it's been around for the last 20 years?" Jett scratched the side of his forehead, a bewildered look on his face, and Spike frowned, looking equally unsure of the answer.

"Maybe someone's hiring them," Ed's voice unexpectedly spoke up and the three turned their curious eyes to Ed, who was now typing the same key over and over again with the same finger in a monotonous rhythm.

"Hmm?" Jett then asked. "You know that for certain?"

"That's what sources say," Ed answered with a chipper grin, although her voice seemed to be slightly distant from the conversation.

"Well, do you know who it is?" Faye asked eagerly. "I bet the bounty on whoever's hiring these robbers would be a fortune."

"It should be a hell of a lot better than 500,000, anyway," Spike agreed.

Ed now bolted up, sitting Indian-style on the floor now and began feverishly typing away at her keyboard. "Let's see…no…no…no…there!" she exclaimed as she hit another button. She then frowned and whined, "Oh…"

"What's wrong, Ed?" Faye asked as she made her way from the couch to Ed, crouching down behind her.

"There's nothing there..."

Faye now frowned, sighing and rising to her feet. "Well, that's just great…" she muttered.

Spike shrugged. "It's not like it matters; there wasn't a bounty on the guy, anyway, whoever he was."

"I guess you're right," Faye agreed as she started to walk away from Ed.

"But wait! Ed found something else!"

"Huh?" Faye turned back, as did Spike and Jett.

"The Chariot's Diamond was last seen publicly at a closed charity event held by Mr. Zaritama at his mansion that took place six months ago, a nine days before the first attempted robbery occurred at Zaritama's Vault."

"You mean…you think someone who went to that saw it and decided they wanted it?" Faye asked and Ed closed her eyes, grinned, and nodded.

"Well, they'd all probably be rich enough to afford hiring all those thieves to go after it, anyway," Spike reasoned.

"Yeah, but if they are that rich, why would they need the diamond so badly?" Jett questioned.

"Ed does not know," Ed answered with a giggled. "But…Ed can get the secret guest list to the party!"

"Really?" Faye asked and anxiously knelt back down beside Ed to look at the screen while Spike and Jett took a few steps forward and bent down a bit in order to see the double-sided screen from the back.

"Just a click here and a click there and…zoom, zoom, zoom! There it is!" Ed exclaimed as she hit the last button, a long list appeared on the screen. All four groaned.

"Did all those people attend the event?" Spike asked as the computer continued to scroll down the lengthy list.

Ed nodded. "All five hundred and forty-one!"

"Five hundred…and forty-one?" Faye repeated and Ed nodded once more. Faye then got up with a yawn and said, "I think I'll pass on this one then and just go after the chump-change bounty."

"Yeah," Spike concurred as he stood up straight. "Like I said, we don't even know what the bounty would be on this guy, anyway."

"See? What did I tell you?" Jett rhetorically began. "Both as lazy and spoiled as you can get."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Spike quickly brushed him off as he headed for the door.

"You forgot the selfish and conceited part," Faye added with a smirk, following Spike.

"Just go and get the damn bounty," Jett grumbled as he took his seat back on the couch. "It's the least you could do, considering I'm the one who feeds you and gives you a place to stay."

Spike just opened the door and stepped into the hall, Faye stepping into the hall right after and walking ahead of him. Turning back around, he said to Jett, "We just better get some meat around here after I catch this bounty." Jett frowned with a sigh and Spike then closed the door behind him.

* * *

"So, this is it?" Lupin asked with some disappointment as he looked around the laboratory Dr. Natsume brought him and his friends to. Jigen, meanwhile, walked around, suspiciously examining the objects in the room while Fujiko stood, arms crossed, with a disgusted look on her face at the plain surroundings. Goemon stood by the doorway, hand still cautiously wrapped around the handle of his sword, ready to unleash it at any moment.

"Yes, this is it," Dr. Natsume answered through clenched teeth, glaring at Lupin in an offended annoyance. "And that is the time machine." He gestured to an octagon-shaped metal platform, a four foot pole sticking out from the center of the platform, a small computer panel on top of it.

Lupin shrugged as he stepped onto the platform and examined it. "It doesn't seem like much," he commented as he kicked at the metal floor.

"Yes, well…" Dr. Natsume trailed off, trying to hold his temper. "If you'd all please step onto the platform.

The other three reluctantly agreed, Fujiko, still disgusted, stepping onto it first and taking a place besides Lupin, Jigen next, scoffing, and muttering, "Looks like a hunk of junk, if you ask me…" as he stepped onto the platform. Goemon was the last of the four, his eyes narrowed as he slowly walked away from the door to the platform. When he reached it, he glared down at it for a moment, but then reluctantly walked onto it as well. Dr. Natsume grinned and now walked onto the platform, heading for the control panel.

After hitting a few buttons, a sudden bubble came around the platform and Lupin and the others gasped in surprise, a worried expression spreading across all of their faces. "What the hell!" Lupin questioned, looking to Dr. Natsume for an answer as Fujiko pressed her hands against the bubble, hoping it would open.

"I told you this was a bad idea, man," Jigen muttered. "But when do any of you listen to me?"

"Just what is going on here!" Lupin persisted, ignoring Jigen, and walking over to Dr. Natsume.

"I suggest you all calm down; it's part of the machine," the doctor replied calmly as he typed away on the panel. "And I wouldn't try breaking the seal, if I were you; you'll simply be wasting your time. It's bullet proof."

"Damn it…" Jigen grumbled and Fujiko hurriedly made her way to Lupin, tugging at his arm.

"Do something, Lupin!" she exclaimed.

"Perhaps this wasn't the best course of action…" Goemon noted.

"You think?" Jigen questioned sarcastically.

"PLEASE, be quiet," Dr. Natsume growled. He then began to explain, "Now, then, one year takes one second of time to pass. Therefore, sixty years would equal one minute, a hundred and twenty years two minutes, and so on and so forth. We're going ninety four years into the future, meaning it will take ninety four seconds to get there. Do you all understand?"

"I think we're smart enough to handle basic math, doctor," Lupin answered with a sneer.

"I suppose so," the doctor replied patronizingly. "During those ninety four seconds, you will most likely hear a great deal of noise. It will be loud, but not unbearable, and most of it won't really be decipherable noise - just screeching, really. And, one more thing - keep your eyes closed."

"Yeah, because that's a smart idea," Jigen sardonically commented.

"You'll regret it if you don't," Dr. Natsume told him grimly with a dark glare.

Jigen looked to Lupin and Lupin assured him, "I think it will be all right." Jigen didn't seemed to pleased with this answer, but he closed his eyes nonetheless as did Fujiko and Goemon. Lupin was the last to close his eyes.

"Are you ready?" Dr. Natsume asked.

"Ready," Lupin answered, but then grinned and added jokingly, "Well, ready as we'll ever be, anyway."

Dr. Natsume smirked. "Good." He then began to type onto the panel.

"Goodbye 1977, and hello 2071!" Lupin declared and Dr. Natsume closed his own eyes, hitting the last button.

There was suddenly a loud surge of noise in Lupin and the others' ears, understandable screeching and shrieking, and they all cringed, covering their ears tightly with their ears. The clock on the panel, meanwhile, ticked away, ten seconds gone by, fifteen, twenty; and the years ascended upward, 1997, 1998, 1999...

And then, somehow over all the screeching, Lupin heard a frightened voice call out to him: "Lupin!"

"Fujiko!" Lupin exclaimed, recognizing the voice immediately and dropping his hands to the side, and his eyes shot opened on instinct.

A blur of colors ran across his eyes, blurs that looked like people but stretched all around him, and mixed into other people, and then disappeared only a moment later. And his breathing increased rapidly, a panicked look on his face, and he turned his head to the side, looking for his friends, yet they were no where to be seen; instead they were replaced by dizzy colors and white light flashing in his eyes. "Jigen! Goemon! Fujiko!" he called out to them, yet there was no answer - nothing but the screeching and the blur of colors that was starting to make him sick.

The clocked ticked on, 2009, 2010, 2011...

Lupin's eyes fell to his hands somehow to see them fading in and out, and aging rapidly and then suddenly turning young again, and Lupin shook his head, panicking, and looked upward.

2020, 2021, 2022...

And the ceiling suddenly disappeared from the laboratory to reveal a fiery sky, a large object falling towards the earth, and an inferno surrounding everything, and Lupin stumbled backwards, exclaiming "Just what the hell is going on!"

But by the time he had spoken, a few more seconds had past as had a few more years, and the inferno was gone, replaced by the speeding colors. Lupin clamped his hands, over his mouth, feeling very dizzy as the colors spinning faster and faster about him and the screeching grew louder and louder. And as much as Lupin wanted to close his eyes, he found himself unable to even blink as he stared out in fear at the rapidly changing world about him.

2035, 2036, 2037 -

That was all that Lupin could stay conscious for; it all became too much for him - the colors chaotically flashing around him and the sounds screaming in his ears - and it overcame him. Then everything went white for Lupin III.

* * *

Muffled voices - Lupin could hear them speaking somewhere nearby and his closed eyes tightened a bit as consciousness slowly came to him.

"This is friggin' amazing, man!" he could hear Jigen's voice with a laugh. "Unbelievable!"

"Incredible," Goemon agreed.

"I still can't believe we're really here!" Fujiko's voice then came to Lupin's ears. "Just think of all the new, priceless things we could steal!" And the three all laughed.

Lupin now groaned, his head hurting, and he forced himself to open his eyes. Everything still blurry, he called out, "Fujiko…?"

Fujiko now gasped and turned from the large glass windows of their hotel room. She grinned excitedly and exclaimed, "Lupin!" before running over to him and taking a seat on his bedside.

"What…what happened…?" Lupin asked groggily as he sat up with a groan and a hand to his forehead.

"I told you not to open your eyes," Dr. Natsume's cold voice spoke up and Lupin looked up to see the doctor standing on the other side of the bed with a stern look on his face. "Do you really think it would be a good idea to watch a whole year go by in one second right before your very eyes? It's enough to make anyone sick."

"But…Fujiko…" Lupin then shook his head and took hold of Fujiko's shoulders. "Fujiko! Are you all right? I heard you scream and - "

"All right?" Fujiko interrupted and then laughed. "Don't be silly, Lupin; I didn't scream. And, even if I did, how could you have possibly heard it over all that noise?" Lupin frowned at this, and went to protest, but Fujiko just took him by the hand and pulled him out of bed, exclaiming, "Come on, Lupin! You've been asleep for two days already! And you have to see this!"

"Two days?" Lupin asked, but Fujiko was already pulling him towards the window where Goemon and Jigen were still standing.

"Look!" she told him with a grin.

"Jesus Christ!" Lupin exclaimed as he looked out the window, taking a step back.

"It's friggin' amazing, ain't it, man?" Jigen said with a smirk as he placed a hand on Lupin's shoulder. "Just friggin' amazing."

Outside the window was a city, filled with skyscrapers, lights - and spaceships soaring over the streets, with two moons hanging over the city, the earth red just beyond the city limits.

"What - what is this place?" Lupin asked as he placed his hand to the glass and looked out over the city from the top floor of their hotel and beyond it.

Dr. Natsume now smiled and stepped beside Lupin, and Lupin looked to him. "Allow me to welcome you, Mr. Lupin, to Mars, 2071."

Lupin's eyes widened and his mouth dropped as his gaze returned back out the window, dumbfounded and awed. Then, his cunning eyes flickered wildly with expectation and he grinned.


End file.
